Kasich is seeking to charge a monthly premium to an estimated 100,000 Medicaid recipients with incomes above the poverty line of about $11,770 for individuals.

Those adults could pay an average of $20 per month to access their Medicaid coverage, administration officials said. The plan requires federal approval.

The federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled provides coverage to nearly one out of every four Ohioans. The administration testified Wednesday on the plan and others in Kasich's budget before the House Finance Committee.

The premium proposal comes after the governor extended Medicaid eligibility in 2013 to cover more low-income individuals.

About 492,000 Ohioans have enrolled under the expansion, according to a new state report released Wednesday. Total Medicaid enrollment was at about 3 million last month.

The Republican governor has pitched the idea of monthly premiums as helping to drive "personal responsibility" and making it easier for residents to transition off Medicaid to private coverage when they can.

Democrats on the House committee said they saw the monthly fees in conflict with expanded Medicaid coverage, fearing the expense could push people off the program because they couldn't afford it.

Rep. Dan Ramos, a Lorain Democrat, said the premiums could turn into "more of an unnecessary burden."

"We're talking about people who have responsibilities," he said, noting that the Medicaid recipients likely had jobs and were paying rent and bills.

Ohio Medicaid director John McCarthy said the administration is not assuming anyone will drop out the system because of the premiums.

McCarthy said if the state had not expanded Medicaid, residents at that income level would be paying premiums and other costs for coverage through the federal health insurance marketplace.